Welcome back to the explorer series! In today’s installation, we’re headed to eastern Europe to the unique region of Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary, home to some of the world’s best sweet wines.
What Does Tokaji Taste Like?
If you’re a fan of Sauternes, you simply must give Tokaji a try. The wines are golden to deep amber in color, with lovely notes of honeycomb, saffron, dried apricot, candied orange peel, and marmalade. They are sweet on the palate, but the refreshing acidity keeps the wine from being cloying – it is excellently balanced. Serve chilled (but not ice-cold; we want to encourage those aromas to come out) as a dessert of its own, or a perfect accompaniment to a fruit tart. Beyond dessert, this structurally intense wine is also a good match for creamy, intense foods like foie gras or pâté.
Where Is Tokaji From & How Is It Made?
Tokaj-Hegyalja is the name of the region in the north-eastern corner of Hungary, tucked in the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains. The soil here is diverse and volcanic, producing powerful wines.
The Role of Botrytis Cinerea
Tokaji (pronounced TOKE-eye) Aszú is the name of the region’s globally acclaimed botrytized sweet wine. “Botrytized” refers to the fact that this wine has been affected by the noble rot, botrytis cinera. We call this type of rot “noble” because it results in delicious wines, as opposed to other fungi that wreak havoc on a vineyard. Much like Sauternes, the conditions in Tokaj-Hegyalja are just right to allow this noble rot to set in.
The botrytis cinera fungus thrives in the humid, misty riverbanks, and sets in on the healthy Furmint grape, puncturing the skins of the grape and letting water out. In the sunny afternoons, these grapes shrivel, increasing the concentration of sugar, acid, and flavor in the grape. By the time they get to the winery, they are so shriveled that they press into more of a paste than a juice. This paste is blended with the non-botrytized base wine to achieve the desired sweetness level in the final wine.
Understanding Puttonyos: The Tokaji Sweetness Scale
Tokaji wines are classified based on their sweetness levels. Albatross is excited to offer you two styles; 5 puttonyos (2014) and 6 puttonyos (2016). The term “puttonyos” clues you in to the sweetness.
The basket traditionally used when harvesting the botrytized grapes is called “puttony”, and those shriveled, syrupy-sweet grapes are added in various proportions to the base wine made from the non-botrytized grapes of that year.
So, the more “puttony” full of sweet raisinated grapes that get added to the base wine, the sweeter the final wine. 5 puttonyos therefore refers to a wine with 120-150g/L residual sugar, and 6 puttonyos refers to a wine with 150-180g/L residual sugar. For reference, a Sauternes is usually around 120g/L.
Not Into Sweet Wines? Try Dry Furmint from Tokaj
While the sweet Tojaki Aszú is the star of the show in the region of Tokaj-Hegyalja, a large part of its success is due to the grape itself. The wine is made from the indigenous grape Furmint, which has the sky-high acidity necessary to balance the generous fruit concentration and syrupy sweetness of the wine.
If you’re not into sweet wines, luckily, the region has begun producing dry wines from the Furmint grape. The region has a northerly latitude, so it is well-suited to the production of crisp white wines. Albatross is happy to bring you Disznókő’s Tokaji Dry Furmint 2021, a fresh, citrussy white wine that would make an excellent pair for seafood or light salads.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our little journey into Hungarian wines – cheers!
